ELISA间接法检测呼吸道合胞病毒和副流感病毒血清IgM和IgA抗体

建立了检测呼吸道合胞病毒(RSV)和副流感病毒(PFV)血清特异性IgM和IgA抗体的间接ELISA方法。在方法统一的基础上比较了检测IgG、IgM和IgA抗体的结果,证明检测血清IgM和IgA可以作为RSV和PFV感染的早期诊断指标。检测了120份临床急性下呼吸道感染患儿的血清,RSV-IgM检出率为33.3％,RSV-IgA为36.7％;PFV-IgM为27.5％,PFV-IgA为31.6％。提出了对RSV和PFV感染以检测特异性IgA替代IgM或两者互补的设想。     

三江地区妊娠妇女风疹病毒感染的血清学分析

目的调查2005年三江地区妊娠妇女风疹病毒感染情况。方法收集400例妊娠8～24周孕妇血清,采用酶联免疫吸附法（ELISA）检测风疹特异性IgM抗体,对IgM阳性患者进一步用PCR检测风疹病毒RNA,对该人群的风疹病毒感染率进行调查。结果检测400例孕妇风疹病毒IgM,阳性20例,阳性率为5．00％;检测IgM阳性者的风疹病毒RNA,结果阳性8例,占IgM阳性者的40．00％。结论用ELISA和PCR法进行妊娠早期风疹病毒感染的检测,对降低先天性风疹综合征患儿的出现具有重要意义。     

基于多聚化重组抗原的检测戊型肝炎病毒IgM与IgG抗体的ELISA的建立及初步评估

建立并评估分别检测戊型肝炎（戊肝）病毒IgM与IgG抗体的捕获法及间接法ELISA。以原核表达的多聚化重组HEV蛋白为抗原,建立戊肝捕获法IgM ELISA(E2-IgM)和间接法IgG ELISA(E2-IgG).利用29只实验感染猴系列血清及多份临床急性肝炎血清、正常人血清以及单克隆抗体评估所建立的方法的敏感法与特异性,并与商品化试剂（Genelabs公司抗－HEV IgG和IgM试剂,GL－IgM/GL-IgM)进行比较。29只恒河猴E2－IgM和E2－IgG的阳转率均为100％,其中75％在感染后4周内阳转,均早于ALT异常时间。E2－IgM持续2－14周,平均6周;E2－IgG在70周时仍无一阴转。GL－IgG阳转率为79．3％（23／29）,多数晚于ALT异常时间,平均持续约18周,但最长为1只在感染后70周时仍为阳性。用E2－IgM试剂盒检测928份正常人血清,仅2份OD值略高于0．2。检测510份临床急性肝炎血清,可明显将其区分为2个部分,一个部分OD值小于0．2,其OD值分布与正常人相似;另一个部分OD值大于0．4,共131份,其中109份大于1．0。可能分别对应于急性肝炎中的非戊肝患者和戊肝患者。119份非甲－丙急性肝炎中,E2－IgM阳性57份,GL－IgM阳性29份（E2－IgM均阳性）。5060份普通人群血清的E2－IgG OD值在0．2以下,形成一个近似对数正态峰,均值为0．022,在OD值0．4以上则分布均匀。用E2－IgG试剂检测200份临床急性肝炎血清,结果OD值0．2以下也形成一个与普通人群类似的近似对数正态峰,但OD值在大于1．0－4．0间形成另一个尖峰（峰值在OD2．5处）,其中多数E2－IgM阳性。抗－HEV单抗可明显阻断E2－IgM及E2－IgG,单抗Fab段的阻断效果与完整抗体类似,提示这种阻断是表位特异的。建立的戊肝IgM试剂和IgG试剂具有良好的敏感性与特异性。IgM试剂适用于临床戊肝诊断,IgG试剂适用于既往戊肝感染诊断。     

捕捉法ELISA检测脊髓灰质炎IgA抗体方法的建立与应用

建立了一种检测脊髓灰质炎(简称脊灰)IgA抗体的捕捉法ELISA(Aac-ELISA)。方法敏感,快速,特异,用于检测144份脊灰可疑病人的血清,IgA抗体检出率为77.8％(112/144).而这些血清的IgM抗体检出率为65.2％(94/144)。如同时检测IgM和IgA抗体,则阳性率可达91.7％(132/144)。麻痹后1～3天内IgA的检出率为76.5％(13/17),4～7天内为95％(19/20)。最长检出IgA的一例可疑病人,其血清收集于病后第59天。本方法在一部分16天后可疑病人IgM阴性血清中查出IgA阳性,故可以作为查IgM抗体诊断方法的补充,尤其适用于诊断感染后未能及时收到血清标本,IgM已经转阴而IgA抗体仍为阳性的病人。     

应用捕获ELISA法检测人巨细胞病素特异性IgM抗体的研究

应用捕获ELISA法检测人巨细胞病毒感染者血清特异性IgM抗体。通过与间接ELISA法对47例临床标体的检测比较,该法灵敏度及特异性均高于间接法,且不受RF的影响。试验表明,CMVIgM捕获法特异敏感、简便、快速、重复性好。CMVIgM捕获法试剂的研制成功,将为血清学的检测、流行病学的调查及临床诊断等提供可靠的科学诊断依据,有助于优生及优育 。     

江苏省不明原因轻型呼吸道传染病暴发的病因学研究

自2004年4月18日起至6月末,江苏省东台市发生以发热、咽部充血、扁桃体肿大为临床表现的原因不明的疫情暴发,发病人群以中小学生、幼儿为主,地域以许河镇、新街镇以及临近乡镇为主。疫情涉及东台市9个镇,合计报告709例,分布在75个学校,240个班级。暴发的特点为传染性强,短期内出现大量的患者,发病有班级聚集性特点,未发现成人感染。临床表现以发烧（100％）、咽部充血（91．40％）、扁桃体肿大（60．22％）、咽痛（50．00％）为主;X线检查可发现肺纹理增强（90．3％）。用Hep-2细胞从患儿20份咽拭子标本中分离到12株病毒,经PCR扩增腺病毒L3部分基因及其PCR产物的序列测定和分析,证实这12株病毒为腺病毒3型;对28份咽拭子标本直接进行DNA提取和PCR扩增,有17份标本PCR扩增L3部分基因呈阳性,经序列测定和分析,也为腺病毒3型。这29个阳性标本L3基因的1446个核苷酸的序列与GenBank上所发表的腺病毒3型序列同源性高达99,5％。双份血IgG检测：对江苏省采集10份患儿急性期和恢复期双份血清,以从患儿咽拭子分离到的腺病毒3型作为抗原,进行病毒抗体测定,6份患儿的双份血清腺病毒总IgG滴度呈4倍以上增高。患儿急性期血IgA检测：对暴发疫情34例患儿急性期血清（发病时间为1～3天）进行腺病毒IgA抗体测定,结果有9份标本为阳性,1份标本为可疑阳性,阳性率为26．47％。IgA阳性率低可能与血清采集时间过早有关,机体还未全部产生IgA。另外,还对江苏省送检的从患儿血培养基培养的细菌毒株进行了鉴定,对其16S rRNA基因进行了基因扩增及序列分析,序列测定和分析提示为A组M3型化脓性链球菌。实验研究结果并结合此次疫情的流行病学和患儿的临床表现,证实腺病毒3型是引起此次儿童不明原因轻型呼吸道传染病暴发的病原体,部分病例伴有原发或继发化脓性链球菌感染。     

应用捕获ELISA法检测人巨细胞病素特异性IgM抗体的研究

应用捕获ELISA法检测人巨细胞病毒感染者血清特异性IgM抗体。通过与间接ELISA法对 4 7例临床标体的检测比较 ,该法灵敏度及特异性均高于间接法 ,且不受RF的影响。试验表明 ,CMVIgM捕获法特异敏感、简便、快速、重复性好。CMVIgM捕获法试剂的研制成功 ,将为血清学的检测、流行病学的调查及临床诊断等提供可靠的科学诊断依据 ,有助于优生及优育     

MacELISA、RPHI和IFAT用于流行性出血热早期诊断的比较

比较了IgM捕获ELISA(MacELISA)、反向间接血凝抑制试验(RPHI)和间接免疫荧光抗体试验(IFAT)检测流行性出血热(EHF)病人血清特异性抗体的结果。MacELISA对急性期血清IgM抗体的阳性检出率与RPHI对总抗体的阳性检出率相近,两法都具有较高的敏感性。而IFAT检测IgG抗体的阳性率则较低。总抗体滴度(RPHI)与IgG抗体滴度(IFAT)相关(r=0.542,P<0.01),而与IgM抗体滴度(MacELISA)无明显相关(r<0.1)。但进一步研究发现,3日内血清IgM抗体滴度与总抗体滴度(RPHI)存在相关关系(r=0.701,P<0.01),表明IgM抗体可能也与发病初期RPHI的较高的阳性检出率有关。本工作表明,MacELISA作为一种早期诊断方法具有高度的特异性和敏感性,而RPHI操作简便、快速、敏感性高,但存在一定的非特异性。研究还发现,流行区临床诊断为EHF的病人,IFAT(IgG)和RPHI检测均阳性,而MacELISA(IgM)阴性,提示用RPHI进行血清学诊断时,检查双份血清是必要的。     

用捕捉ELISA法检测类脊髓灰质炎患者血清中肠道病毒71型IgM抗体以进行早期诊断

以肠道病毒71型(EV71)感染Vero细胞制备的EV71抗原,用于IgM捕捉ELISA法检测类脊髓灰质炎(类脊灰)患者血清中EV71 IgM抗体,特异性高,敏感性及稳定性良好。154例脊髓灰质炎(脊灰)病毒IgM阴性的可疑脊灰患者血清中EV71 IgM抗体阳性检出率为14.9％(23/154)。病后第2天的标本即可测出EV71 IgM,5至12天者抗体滴度较高,病后第40天的标本尚可测出EV71 IgM。本法是EV71感染的早期快速诊断方法,可用于与脊灰的鉴别诊断。     

肺炎衣原体感染与青少年I型糖尿病的相关性研究

目的：探讨肺炎衣原体感染与青少年I型糖尿病的相关性,为I型糖尿病的的临床治疗提供参考依据。方法：选择2010年12月．2012年6月间石家庄地区各医院收治的49例青少年T1DM患者为观察组,及同期50例健康人作为对照组,应用即时指尖血免疫测定仪分析受试者HbAlc水平;应用RT—PCR技术检测血液中CpnDNA;应用ELISA方法检测受试者血清中Cpn特异性抗体水平,对CpnDNA的检出情况及HbAlc水平与CpnDNA和特异性抗体水平的相关性进行统计学分析。结果：观察组CpnDNA的栓出率为46．9％,显著高于对照组（P〈0．05）;观察组Cpn抗体阳性率显著高于对照组（P〈0．05）,且观察组再次感染或慢性感染Cpn的百分率显著高于对照组（p／0．05）;HbAlc与IgG／IgA抗体水平显著相关,血糖控制较差0qbAlc〉9％）的糖尿病患者CpnIgG／IgA抗体阳性率与血糖控制较好的患者（HbA1c〈7％）相比显著升高（P〈0．05）。结论：与健康对照相比,青少年T1DM患者更容易感染Cpn,且更容易由急性感染状态进展为慢性感染形式,良好的血糖可能降低患者发生与代谢控制有关的慢性并发症。     

Evaluation of serological diagnostic test systems assessing the immune response to Japanese encephalitis vaccination

A new commercial anti-Japanese encephalitis virus IgM and IgG indirect immunofluorescence test (IIFT) was evaluated for the detection of the humoral immune response after Japanese encephalitis vaccination. The IgM IIFT was compared to two IgM capture ELISAs and the IgG IIFT was analysed in comparison to a plaque reduction neutralization test (PRNT50) and an IgG ELISA. Moreover, the course of the immune reaction after vaccination with an inactivated JEV vaccine was examined. For the present study 300 serum samples from different blood withdrawals from 100 persons vaccinated against Japanese encephalitis were used. For the IgM evaluation, altogether 78 PRNT50 positive samples taken 7 to 56 days after vaccination and 78 PRNT50 negative sera were analyzed with the Euroimmun anti-JEV IgM IIFT, the Panbio Japanese Encephalitis - Dengue IgM Combo ELISA and the InBios JE Detect IgM capture ELISA. For the IgG evaluation, 100 sera taken 56 days after vaccination and 100 corresponding sera taken before vaccination were tested in the PRNT50, the Euroimmun anti-JEV IgG IIFT, and the InBios JE Detect IgG ELISA. The Euroimmun IgM IIFT showed in comparison to the Panbio ELISA a specificity of 95% and a sensitivity of 86%. With respect to the InBios ELISA, the values were 100% and 83.9%, respectively. The analysis of the Euroimmun IgG IIFT performance and the PRNT50 results demonstrated a specificity of 100% and a sensitivity of 93.8%, whereas it was not possible to detect more than 6.6% of the PRNT50 positive sera as positive with the InBios JE Detect IgG ELISA. Thus, the IIFT is a valuable alternative to the established methods in detecting anti-JEV antibodies after vaccination in travellers and it might prove useful for the diagnosis of acutely infected persons.     

Multicenter evaluation of the novel enzyme immunoassay based on P1-enriched protein for the detection of Mycoplasma pneumoniae infection

The aim of the study was to evaluate new Mycoplasma pneumoniae IgG, IgA and IgM EIA methods based on the enrichment of P1-protein (ThermoLabsystems, Helsinki, Finland) (L) for the detection of acute infection. This evaluation was performed in two independent routine clinical microbiology laboratories. The first laboratory used samples preselected by IgG and IgM Platelia enzyme immunoassay (P) and the second used samples preseleced by Serion ELISA Classic M. pneumoniae IgG, IgM (V). The L method was also compared to the FDA approved method of ImmunoWell M. pneumoniae IgG and IgM (G). When the agreement of two methods was applied as a serologic criteria for an acute infection, the following ratios of acute to nonacute infection were calculated 32/86 (totally 118) in the first and 20/72 (totally 92) in the second laboratory. In the first laboratory, the corresponding ratios by methods were 35/83 (sensitivity 100%, specificity 96.5%), 31/87 (sensitivity 97%, specificity 100%), and 55/63 (sensitivity 100%, specificity 79%) for the L, P and G methods, respectively. In the second laboratory, the ratios were 21/71 (sensitivity 100%, specificity 99%), 16/76 (sensitivity 83%, specificity 100%), and 53/39 (sensitivity 100, specificity 69%) for the L, V and G methods, respectively. Taking into account that the tested sample material was preselected by the P and V methods, which may have introduced some bias in their favor, the newly developed L method utilizing P1-enriched protein was found reliable for serodiagnosis of acute M. pneumoniae infection. The method G was the least specific in detection of acute infection.     

Evaluation of the usefulness of commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays for diagnosis of Mycoplasma pneumoniae infections

The usefulness of the ELISA distributed by BioChem ImmunoSystems, Medial Polska, Biomedica/Virotech and prepared in our laboratory (ELISA FH-K) for diagnosis of the M. pneumoniae infections was estimated. Eighty six serum samples obtained from 86 patients with respiratory tract infections were simultaneously tested by ELISA-IgM/-IgG and by complement fixation test which was accepted as a reference test. The highest sensitivity in relation to the CFT was displayed by the ELISA BioChem ImmunoSystems and Medial Polska (100%), slightly lower sensitivity by the ELISA Biomedica/Virotech--96.5% and ELISA FH-K--90.9% when determining mycoplasmal antibodies of IgM. The lowest sensitivity was displayed by the ELISA Biomedica/Virotech when determining antibodies of the IgG class (54.9%). The specificity of ELISA in relation to the CFT was generally higher when detecting mycoplasmal antibodies of the IgM class then of IgG class. The study demonstrated that all 4 ELISA may be used in routine serodiagnosis of M. pneumoniae infection. For the improve of sensitivity of ELISA it's recommended to measure simultaneously the level of mycoplasmal antibodies of IgM and IgG.     

Comparative evaluation of two enzyme linked immunosorbent assay methods and three Western Blot methods for the diagnosis of culture-confirmed early Lyme borreliosis in Italy

This study investigated the onset and development of the immune response to Borrelia burgdorferi infection in 30 Italian patients with culture-confirmed Lyme Borreliosis in the stage of erythema migrans (EM). All patients received antimicrobial treatment when entering the study and were prospectively evaluated monthly for up to 30 days after enrolment. A total of 60 serially collected serum samples were tested by using two different commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs): Anti-Borrelia plus VlsE ELISA, Euroimmun, and the synthetic peptide-based ELISA, Quick ELISA C6, Immunetics. Sixty-five potentially cross-reacting sera were also tested. Anti-Borrelia plus VlsE ELISA IgG was far more sensitive than Quick ELISA C6 (56.6% and 33.3%, respectively). Moreover, considering that 17 additional sera from the first bleeding group of Lyme disease patients were IgM positive when tested by Anti-Borrelia plus VlsE IgM, the sensitivity of Anti-Borrelia plus VlsE as a whole system rose to 85.0%. Nevertheless, due to the specificity values of Anti-Borrelia plus VlsE ELISA identified in this study (98.5% for IgG and 78.5% for IgM), the need of a confirmatory test for the diagnosis of Lyme disease remains. All the sera were also tested by two different commercial Western Blot (WB) assays: Euroline-WB against Borrelia, Euroimmun, and Qualicode B. burgdorferi WB, Immunetics, in comparison with a multispecies "home made" WB. Performances of the three WB methods for the detection of IgM were very similar. On the contrary, these WBs performed with different values of sensitivity and specificity when IgGs were evaluated. The most sensitive method was the "home-made" WB IgG (71.7%), followed by the Euroline-WB IgG against Borrelia (68.3%). Qualicode B. burgdorferi WB IgG demonstrated to be only 26.6% sensitive. Both "home-made" WB IgG and Qualicode B. burgdorferi WB IgG were 100% specific, whereas Euroline-WB IgG against Borrelia scored 12 cross-reacting samples as borderline, showing a specificity value of 80.0%.     

Standardization of ELISA IgM and IgA for immunodiagnosis of human trichinosis

An ELISA test for trichinosis using as antigen a larvae soluble fraction from Trichinella spiralis was carried out for the detection of IgM and IgA specific antibodies in 45 serum samples from patients confirmed or suspected to have trichinosis by strong clinical and epidemiological evidences. All the patients had positive serology detected by precipitin test, bentonite floculation test, indirect hemagglutination test and ELISA IgG test. The cut-off value was determined using two criteria. Criterion A was determined in each plate, using three positive controls and two negative ones; the average of the negative controls and the weakest positive control, multiplied by a 1.2 factor was, considered the cut-off value. Criterion B was determined using the average plus three standard deviations from 64 apparently healthy persons serum samples. In both cases, three serum dilutions (1:10, 1:100 and 1:500) were used. The sensitivity of ELISA IgM was 100.0, 93.3 and 82.2% using serum dilutions of 1:10, 1:100 and 1:500 respectively (criterion A) and 100.0, 97.8 and 95.6% for the same dilutions (criterion B), whereas the values for ELISA IgA were: 100.0, 91.1 and 86.7% (criterion A) and 100.0, 100.0 and 91.1% (criterion B). In order to find out the specificity of ELISA IgM and ELISA IgA, additional 118 serum samples from individuals with other parasitoses, such as cysticercosis (18) hydatidosis (39), fascioliasis (12), toxocariasis (30), Chagas' disease (12) and individuals with non-specific eosinophilia (7), were also tested. ELISA IgM presented a specificity of 92.3, 93.4 and 97.3% (criterion A) and 96.2, 97.8 and 97.8% (criterion B) whereas the results for ELISA IgA were 97.8, 98.9 and 99.4% (criterion A) and 98.4% for the 1:10 and 1:100 dilutions and 100.0% for the 1:500 dilution (criterion B). The positive predictive values of ELISA IgM were 76.3, 77.8 and 88.1% (criterion A) and 86.5, 91.7 and 91.5% (criterion B) whereas the negative ones were 100.0, 98.3 and 95.7% (criterion A) and 100.0, 99.4 and 98.9% (criterion B). The positive predictive values of ELISA IgA were 91.8, 95.3 and 97.5% (criterion A) and 93.8, 93.8 and 100.0% (criterion B) whereas the negatives ones were: 100.0, 97.8 and 96.8% (criterion A) and 100.0, 100.0 and 97.8% (criterion B). The use of ELISA IgM and ELISA IgA in the immunodiagnosis of trichinosis is discussed.     

Evaluation of the usefulness for the latex agglutination test for serodiagnosis of Mycoplasma pneumoniae infections

The usefulness of latex agglutination test prepared in our laboratory for the diagnosis of M. pneumoniae infections was assessed. A total of 628 serum samples obtained from patients with respiratory tract infections were tested by complement fixation test and by latex test, from among them 274 serum samples were additionally tested by ELISA--Ig A/--IgG/--IgM and by immunoelectroprecipitation test. The highest sensitivity and specificity was displayed by the latex test in relation to ELISA when determining mycoplasmal antibodies of IgM class (respectively 82.1% and 89.6%) and to the complement fixation test (81.0% and 89.0%). Positive latex test results in our investigations were associated only with the presence of IgM antibodies and were not dependent on the IgA and IgG antibody classes. The latex agglutination test may be used in routine serodiagnosis of mycoplasmosis under condition that the results obtained in this test will be confirmed by the complement fixation test or ELISA.     

Immunodiagnosis of Dengue Virus Infection Using Saliva

Keeping in view the complications and the case fatality associated with dengue virus, several serologic tests have been developed. However, the major drawback of these serologic tests is the need for a venous blood sample obtained by invasive venipuncture. As a noninvasive alternative, saliva provides a body fluid that contains antibodies of diagnostic importance. Hence, the detection of DEN-specific IgM and IgG antibodies in serum and saliva from 80 patients was compared. Salivary IgM antibodies were detected in 100% of the serum IgM-positive samples and in 30% of the serum samples that were negative for IgM antibodies. Salivary IgG antibodies were detected in 93.3% of the serum samples that were positive for anti-dengue IgG antibodies and in none of the serum IgG-negative cases. None of the specimens from the healthy controls showed the presence of IgM or IgG antibodies. The detection of both IgG and IgM antibodies in saliva correlated well with the serum IgG and IgM detection by the ELISA test (r = 0.6322 and r = 0.4227). Detection of salivary IgM antibodies by ELISA showed 100% sensitivity, 70% specificity, 90.9% positive predictive value, and 100% negative predictive value. The detection of IgG in saliva proved to be a promising tool as the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value were found out to be 93.3%, 100%, 100%, and 83.3%, respectively. Thus, from this study we conclude that the detection of DEN-specific salivary IgG and IgM antibodies are useful markers for dengue infection.     

The use of Bartonella henselae-specific age dependent IgG and IgM in diagnostic models to discriminate diseased from non-diseased in Cat Scratch Disease serology

Cat Scratch Disease (CSD) is caused by Bartonella henselae infection and is a common cause of regional lymphadenopathy. The diagnosis of CSD largely depends on serology, but is hampered by both low sensitivity and specificity of the applied IgG and IgM assays. Using an in-house ELISA, we detected a significant age-dependent increase in the IgG levels in the general population compared to CSD patients. With this knowledge, we developed diagnostic models to differentiate diseased from non-diseased persons. Evaluation of these models using samples from PCR-positive patients (n=155) and age-matched controls (n=244) showed an important increase in the assay performance if the combination of the IgG and IgM results were taken into account. If the specificity was set at 98% the sensitivity was only 45% and 32% for the IgM and IgG ELISA, respectively but increased to 59% when these results were combined. Also the use of age-dependent factors further improved the clinical relevance of the outcome raising the sensitivity to 64%. Although the sensitivity of the ELISA remains low we conclude that the use of models using the combination of both IgM and IgG test results and age-depending factors can be a useful diagnostic tool in the serodiagnosis of CSD.     

Evaluation of two Toxoplasma gondii serologic tests used in a serosurvey of domestic cats in California

We evaluated the sensitivity (Se) and specificity (Sp) of an IgG enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and IgG indirect fluorescent antibody test (IFAT) for detection of Toxoplasma gondii-specific antibodies in sera from 2 cat populations using a Bayesian approach. Accounting for test covariance, the Se and Sp of the IgG ELISA were estimated to be 92.6% and 96.5%, and those of the IgG IFAT were 81.0% and 93.8%, respectively. Both tests performed poorly in cats experimentally coinfected with feline immunodeficiency virus and T. gondii. Excluding this group, Se and Sp of the ELISA were virtually unchanged (92.3% and 96.4%, respectively), whereas the IFAT Se improved to 94.2% and Sp remained stable at 93.7%. These tests and an IgM ELISA were applied to 123 cat sera from the Morro Bay area, California, where high morbidity and mortality attributable to toxoplasmosis have been detected in southern sea otters. Age-adjusted IgG seroprevalence in this population was estimated to be 29.6%, and it did not differ between owned and unowned cats. Accounting for Se, Sp, and test covariances, age-adjusted seroprevalence was 45.0%. The odds for T. gondii seropositivity were 12.3-fold higher for cats aged >12 mo compared with cats aged <6 mo.     

Production and Evaluation of Toxoplasma gondii Recombinant GRA7 for Serodiagnosis of Human Infections

The precise diagnosis of the acute toxoplasmosis in pregnant women and immunocompromsied patients has critical importance. Most of the commercially available assays use the whole Toxoplasma soluble extract as the antigen. However, the assays currently available for the detection of specific anti-Toxoplasma antibodies may vary in their abilities to detect serum immunoglobulins, due to the lack of a purified standardized antigen. The aim of this study was production and evaluation of the usefulness of the recombinant Toxoplasma gondii GRA7 antigen for the serodiagnosis of Toxoplasma gondii IgM and IgG by ELISA. A total of 70 T. gondii IgM positive sera, 74 T. gondii IgG positive sera, and 60 sera from subjects who were not infected with T. gondii were examined. These sera were shown different absorbance values in ELISA test. To control the specificity of the rGRA7 other parasitic diseases, for example, echinococcosis, malaria, leishmaniasis, fascioliasis, and strongyloidiasis were tested of which none showed positive results. Sensitivity and specificity of the generated recombinant IgG ELISA in comparison with commercial ELISA (com ELISA) were 89% and 90%, and the sensitivity and specificity of the generated recombinant IgM ELISA were 96% and 90%, respectively. The results obtained here show that this antigen is useful for diagnostic purposes.